Yes, I’m still alive. Since May I’ve been very preoccupied with first-time homebuyer stuff, and am working on trying to close on a house at the end of this month and the stress of packing up my home. At present, the vast majority of my tea collection is in boxes (I’ve only left some of the samplers/boxed tea currently unpacked, and have mostly been drinking iced tea trying to clear some of that out before it gets added to my last massive tea box). I’ve also felt quite stressed because back in June my job basically backed me into a corner to pull my FMLA rights away from me, and things have been going quite slowly with the DoL trying to get those rights reinstated, so I’ve been having to work through all my chronic migraine attacks. This gal is exhausted. But next week I’m going to Portland for the PDX Tea Fes! Honestly at this point, I’m more excited for some days to not be dealing with the house stuff and work than the tea. Sad, but true.
Anyway, I’m down to my last three servings of this one. It’s an old flavored rooibos I got from Snake River Tea in Boise, and it’s wholesaled from International Tea Importers. The dry leaf has a strong creamsicle aroma. The steeped tea is a deep red-orange and has a strong stonefruit and sweet vanilla fragrance. The base is slightly brassy/woody, but mostly the flavor is strongly orange, leaving a citrusy tanginess on the tongue; like most orange flavors it does come off to me a touch artificial, but not enough that I’m finding it bothersome, especially compared to other orange-flavored teas I’ve tried. It actually pairs pretty nicely with the noticable sweet vanilla flavor, which lingers in the aftertaste. I also can taste just a hint of a peachy/stonefruit note in the tea, which also may be helping balance and take the edge off of the artificiality of the orange flavoring. Overall, the balance is actually really good in this one, and I’m surprised that the flavor has held up so well since this is one of my older teas. It has a nice creamsicle taste, with a slightly more tangy/fruity hit before the sweetness of the finish kicks in.
Flavors: Artificial, Orange, Peach, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet, Vanilla, Wood
Congrats on buying your first house! Sorry about the job pain and I hope the tea fest goes well for you.
Ya, I’m really looking forward to it, now. The home-buying experience has been exhausting, and the Department of Labor has been very slow with my complaint (probably because my employer didn’t leave anything in writing I could use to support myself, it was all done verbally, so if you just have “your word” that doesn’t look so great to get some negotiations in there…) I’m now quite happy to be off to the Oregon Coast/Portland for a week. The vendor line-up for the tea festival is a good one [https://www.teafestpdx.com/vendors], and me and my friend Todd signed up for three panels: a discussion of pu-erh, tea blending and tasting demo, and tea, tourism, and social change.
The tea fest sounds amazing. I recognize a few vendors, including JusTea. They sent me some samples when they first started!
Glad to see you back on Steepster. Hope the home purchase goes smoothly…it was a nerve wrecking process for me as well. The real fun though begins after closing when you have to clean, maintain, and fix the darn thing. Such are the joys of homeownership, but worth it to have a place to call your own :-)
Congrats about the house! Seems to be a current trend with people I know. I’m looking forward to some commentary on the tea festival when you return!
Thanks! I’ll try to remember to take some good notes of my tea-capades around the Oregon Coast and Portland!